Condos are Unique

What You MUST Know if You Are Considering Buying or Selling a Condo:

Condominium market in Seattle is very unique; it is different in almost every way as compared to single family house market. Why? It doesn’t follow the same trends as the rest of the residential housing market. It’s also full of nuances absolutely not applicable to the rest of the housing market. Buying or selling a condo in Seattle requires a real estate agent with a different set of skills. Why? Here is a good example to put it in perspective: given an emergency situation, your family physician could probably perform a surgery. In most cases, however, you would likely want to go see a surgeon because that's all they do and that's their specialty. Here is an example a little closer to home: a real estate broker would need to have a vessel dealer license to sell a house boat because the nuances of a house boat transaction are specific enough that an average Realtor would simply not have the know-how to represent their client properly. While legislators tried to separate license requirements for the condominium industry multiple times, the real estate industry is too big to let it happen despite the fact that a condo transaction is vastly different than a single family home transaction. Similarly, commercial real estate is vastly different than residential real estate and you would most certainly go a specialist if you were buying or selling an industrial warehouse.  For the same reason, you would want to make sure your real estate agent has the right set of skills to help you buy or sell a condo.

Washington Condo Brokers, Inc. offers just that! As the only real estate brokerage in the state that handles condominiums and homeowner associations exclusively, we know condos because that’s ALL we do! Our brokers come to us from various branches of the condo industry, including portfolio, asset, and association management. Having dealt with so many Condominium Associations in Seattle and surrounding areas for years, we not only understand the market as Realtors, but also have “inside” knowledge of how condominium associations actually work.

Choose expert representation for a condo transaction! Majority of Seattle Real Estate agents have no condo background. We will help you answer all of your condo questions. If you interview multiple agents, make sure that he or she is comfortable answering the basic questions:

• How is buying or selling a condo different than buying or selling a house?
• What is a condo resale certificate and how does it work?
• What’s a Public Offering Statement and how is it different from the Resale Certificate?
• Why do some condo associations not qualify for financing?
• What should I look for in reading the meeting minutes?
• How to read condo financial statements?
• How to interpret the reserve study and incorporate that information into the TRUE picture of the financial health of the Condominium Association?
• Governing Documents, why is the Declaration, By-Laws and House Rules are important?
• What is Condo Master Insurance, how does it work, and what it means for the owner?
• How is marketing a condo different? (Signs are not allowed in most; we can help)
• What does a condo financial audit mean to you?
• What does the condo management company do?
• How can the Board of Directors help or hurt the sale?
• How do you predict or help account for a Special Assessment?
• How to Board resolutions affect the Governing Documents?
• How can the condo association operating budget change the value of the unit by as much as half?
• What exactly is included in the condo dues and how will it affect you?
• How is the process different for the Downtown Seattle high-rise vs. a Magnolia mid-rise? (or a legal HOA vs. any other Seattle condo?)